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Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura (15 July 1951-), born James George Janos, was Governor of Minnesota from 4 January 1999 to 6 January 2003, succeeding Arne Carlson and preceding Tim Pawlenty. Ventura was elected as a Reform Party USA candidate, but he later joined the liberal Independence Party of Minnesota once elected to office. Biography James George Janos was born on 15 July 1951 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of two World War II veterans; his father's family had come from Slovakia, while his mother's family was from Germany. Janos joined the US Navy in 1969, serving as a frogman in an underwater demolition team at the time of the Vietnam War; he would exaggerate his military service and claim that he was a member of the Navy SEALs. After leaving the Navy, he became a member of a biker gang, and he worked as a bodyguard for The Rolling Stones before becoming a professional wrestler. Wrestling career Janos decided to take on the wrestling name of "Jesse Ventura" to fit his bleach-blond California motif, and he made his wrestling debut in 1975. In 1980, he won the Tag Team Championship with Adrian Adonis as his partner, and they held the belts for a year. Ventura then moved on to the World Wrestling Federation, but he was forced to end his in-ring career in September 1984 due to getting blood clots in his legs, claiming that the clots were due to his exposure to Agent Orange during his service in Vietnam. Ventura became a sports radio announcer and became a commentator for the World Champion Wrestling competition in February 1992 for SuperBrawl II. Political career ]]In 1990, Ventura ran for Mayor of Brooklyn Park, serving from 1991 to 1995. In 1998, he decided to run for Governor of Minnesota as the Reform Party USA candidate, and his slogan was "Don't vote for politics as usual." He narrowly won the election and proclaimed that his team had shocked the world, becoming the first Reform Party candidate to win an office. He switched his allegiance to the Independence Party of Minnesota after election, and he claimed that he was socially liberal and fiscally conservative; he had no backing in the State Senate or State House of Representatives from either the liberal US Democratic Party or conservative US Republican Party. Ventura had the budget surplus returned to the public, supported a unicameral legislature, property tax reform, gay rights, the legalization of marijuana, instant-runoff voting, third party representation in the government, and abortion rights, and he funded public school education generously while opposing the teachers' union. In 2002, he also opposed the economic sanctions on Cuba, saying that it affected the people more than it did the government. He left the governorship in 2005, and he became a television host and author as an independent politician. Category:1951 births Category:Americans Category:Politicians Category:American politicians Category:Slovak-Americans Category:German-Americans Category:Protestants Category:Athletes Category:American athletes Category:Reform Party members Category:Independence Party of Minnesota members Category:American liberals Category:Liberals Category:People from Minneapolis Category:People from Minnesota Category:US Green Party members Category:Minnesota Greens